AT Mother of Pearl’s SS17 show, set in the Christ Church at Spitalfields, the current ‘80s trend showed no sign of fading as the era was Amy Powney’s main source of inspiration for this collection. But as she always does with her collections since being appointed the creative director in 2015, she made it look extremely cool.
The main reference point was a series of short films from 1989 New York Stories. Models with blow-dried hair wore gold hoop earrings and red smudged lipstick matching the bright red pieces in the collection – oversized shirts with long bell sleeves worn over a white T-shirt with frayed wide jeans or long organza dress with floral embroidery, frilled dresses and a pair of trousers pinned with pearls at the ankles, a detail that appeared on most of the looks.
This pop of red was surely a reference to one of the short films, Oedipus Wrecks, directed by and starring Woody Allen alongside Mia Farrow who wears a coat in the same shade paired with a white shirt and a string of pearls.
The story that was the most referenced though is Life Without Zoë by Francis Ford Coppola about a little girl living in a luxury hotel and wearing Chanel to school on a daily basis. Hence tweeds, which made one doubt this was a collection meant for spring and summer, and other luxury fabrics, matching coat suits, chain belts and a backpack were part of the offering.
The third New York story that Powney was influenced by was Martin Scorsese’s Life Lessons about a celebrated abstract painter and his young assistant and former lover Paulette and their dramatic relationship. Paulette’s style appeared in the use of black, her favoured colour in the film, and short sexier dresses, as well as the aforementioned oversized shirts and jeans.
An homage to the ‘80s was obvious in the consistent use of ruffles, shiny silk taffeta and puffy sleeves. Dresses also came in light chiffon and with floral prints. Often worn over T-shirts or long-sleeved tops with ‘mother’ written on one sleeve and ‘pearl’ on the other, landing the looks a sporty feel the brand is known for but it also meant giving into the current trend of logos and merchandise.
by Sara Hesikova
Images courtesy of Mother of Pearl